Norman Atkins – Bio

Norman leads Together Education, an innovation studio that catalyzes enduring, scalable solutions to our most pressing education challenges. He is the Co-Founder former President of Relay GSE, an accredited institution of higher education that annually trains 5,000 teachers and principals nationwide. In 1997, he co-founded and co-led North Star Academy in Newark, NJ, and – based on that one school – founded and led Uncommon Schools, one of the nation’s highest-performing charter school networks, serving more than 21,000 low-income students in the Northeast. About nine years ago, Norman co-founded Zearn, a top-rated online math program that reaches one quarter of U.S. elementary school students. He is now the Board Chair of Relay, Uncommon, and Zearn, as well as Merit America, a leading nonprofit that provides skilled careers to young adults.

From 1989 to 1994, Norman was the Co-Executive Director of the Robin Hood Foundation. He was a one-time board member of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa and has consulted on education initiatives worldwide. He has also been inducted into the Charter School Hall of Fame and received the Heinz Award for improving the Human Condition. A recovering journalist, Norman earned his A.B. in History from Brown, where he also received an honorary doctorate, and his M.A. from Columbia University Teachers College.